


Survival of a Different Kind

by LibrarianWitch



Category: Beth Greene/ Daryl Dixon, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Alternate Universe - The Walking Dead Fusion, Amy and Andrea aren't siblings, F/M, Lori Grimes and Rick Grimes aren't Married, Survivor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:00:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25400509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibrarianWitch/pseuds/LibrarianWitch
Summary: This was Beth Greene's plan: 1. Audition for Survivor and get on the show, 2. Outwit and Outplay her tribe mates and somehow make it to day 50, 3. Win Survivor and use the prise money to make her singing dreams come true. That was it. Pretty simple she thought. However Beth should have known that all the best laid plans go awry, she just hadn't expected that Daryl Dixon would be the cause of it.Follow Beth and Daryl, as well as some other familiar characters as they try to survive not in a zombie apocalypse but on a tropical island in a game of wit, skill and cunning to win the title of Sole Survivor and earn the prize of a million dollars. And maybe find something else they'd never dreamed of along the way.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene, Maggie Greene/Glenn Rhee
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to my story!  
> Now I'd like to start off by saying this story came from inspiration from many different works/people/shows. I've always wanted to write an alternate universe Bethyl fic as I love that couple and the inspiration hit me when I read over LemonStar's few chapters on a Survivor take and I decided I'd have a go at writing my own spin on this concept. I'd also like to credit IronDoormat's Dramione fan fiction which I have read and loved and who has inspired me for some scenes and ways my story could go, however I want to make it clear that I in no way am plagiarising these stories only using them for inspiration and ideas for my own story. 
> 
> One thing I also want to note is that no one (except when its explicitly stated in my story) is related even if in the show/comics they are originally related. This mostly applies to Rick and Lori and Amy and Andrea however I wanted to make this clear as there may be some confusion when reading. 
> 
> Apart from that I hope you all enjoy this first chapter and are excited as I am for this!  
> If you have any questions please feel free to ask me.  
> Love LibrarianWitch x

Beth sat on the wooden deck of the boat, the sun beating down on her and already giving her a light burn across her shoulders.

She’d spent the last couple of hours on a boat and the last thing she wanted to do was get on another one however that was just what Derek from the production crew was instructing her and the other nine strangers sitting alongside her that that was what would be happening shortly. Whilst another crew member told the same thing to the other ten strangers seated on the other side of the boat.

After Derek had handed to them their coloured headbands, yellow not the worst colour but also not the best for spending 50 days out on a tropical island with no showers or cleaning facilities. Well that was considering she made it to day 50. Beth leant back and continued to observe her fellow rivals, not having much else to do as they’d all been forbidden to speak to one another until the game officially started.

Squinting and wishing that they’d been allowed to wear sunglasses at least in the lead up to the start, she looked over to see the other tribe members had luckily received deep blue headbands.

_Dang_!

Yellow wasn’t the worst colour in the world but she would have rather had blue, seeing it was her favourite colour and all.

Tuning out the rules that were once again being explained to them, Beth thought for probably the hundredth time if she was soon going to regret auditioning for the 40th season of Survivor.

It had been Maggie’s idea entirely. She’d practically come storming through the house screaming at the top of her lungs before she finally burst into Beth’s room and slammed a flyer on her desk.

_“BETH YOU HAVE TO AUDITION!”_

_“Audition for what Maggie?”_

_“Only for ya all time favourite show!”_

Raising her eyebrow at her sisters overly enthused antics that had become something of a regularity lately, as Maggie had recently gone through a bad break up with her boyfriend and had supposedly ‘sworn off boys,’ at least for now, and had subsequently made Beth her new project.

Looking down at the white piece of paper she’d slammed in front of her Beth read over the audition information for the reality TV show Survivor.

Maggie wasn’t completely correct about it being her all time favourite show but it was definitely one of her top three, she’d watched just about every season, loving the different challenges and trials the contestants faced not to mention all the alliances and strategy needed to play the game to the end.

_“Mag’s I don’t know..”_ She’d trailed off bitting her lip in trepidation.

_“C’mon Bethy you’d be great, sides’ just think a million dollars! That money it would be just what you need to start your singing career.”_

_“Maggie I just ..I don’t think it would be a good idea, I’ve only jus finished school, and Daddy needs help round the farm and—”_ Beth replied pushing the paper back to her sister.

_“Beth you can’t spend your life hiding in your room and Daddy would understand, in fact I’m sure he’d be all for it._ ”

_“I don’t hide away in my room.”_ She frowned.

Sighing Maggie sat down next to Beth,

_“Ever since last year, since…your mumma and Sh-Shawn…”_

_“Maggie don’t._ ” Beth whispered.

_“Yes Beth, you know we need to talk bout it, since then, since everything that happened you’ve changed.You don’t do anything for yourself anymore. You spend your time just worrying about Daddy and the farm or me up in Atlanta, you’re right about being young but your also too young to be wasting your life, you need to be living your life, travelling, following your dreams.”_

Beth just sighed knowing her sister was probably speaking the truth but still finding it difficult to think about everything that had happened to their family.

Last year her mother and older brother had tragically died in a car crash and it had rocked the rest of her family to their core. Beth had been in her final year of high school when it had happened and it had been especially hard for her watching her friends go through what was supposed to be one of the best years of their life, going to parties and prom and graduation whilst she was just in a dark hole of depression not knowing how to climb out. Matters had only been made worse when Jimmy, her now ex-boyfriend had broken up with her, stating the reason was because she was no longer fun to hang around as she just made everyone feel sad, and it had sent her over the edge resulting in her trying to take her own life.

Although her suicide attempt had been the darkest period of her life it had subsequently brought the remaining members of her family back together, as before they had all but been living in their own worlds, trying each to deal with what had happened separately and continue on as normal however barely surviving.

Beth’s actions had certainly been a much needed wake up call to her family. As it showed them that they needed to appreciate what they still had and not to spend the rest of their lives wallowing in sadness and despair but instead live for her mother and Shawn. It had also made her, her sister and father as close as they’d ever been.

However Beth did admit that since the accident and the incident with taking her life she had changed. She no longer saw any real desire in going out to parties or hanging at the dam with her friends or even doing the simple things she used to enjoy like volunteering at the church or working part time in the daycare, instead she preferred to spend her time around the farm, reading or writing her songs.

_“Look I don’t want ta pressure you, I know ya just as stubborn as Daddy, but just think bout it okay? Think bout what it’ll mean for your future if you win and think bout how you can do this for them as well. Lord knows Shawn and Annette loved that show to.”_

Standing up from Beth’s bed Maggie reached out and wiped the stray tear that had rolled down Beth’s check before leaving her to her thoughts.

It was only two days later that Maggie had driven Beth to the audition after she had finally agreed to try out and it was a month later that she had received the call to tell her she had been accepted onto the show.

Smiling at the memory of her sisters face when she’d told her she was one of the 20 contestants on the show Beth’s attention was pulled back as the host Jeff, who they had all met briefly just before, asked them all to stand. Watching as the camera men started getting ready to film Beth knew it was only moments before the air horn would blast officially signalling the start of the game.

Heart fluttering in her chest and her nerves rising Beth stood to her feet with the others, now finally getting a proper glimpse at all the supplies loaded on the far end of the boat, along with the two large row boats that were tied to the larger vessel and bobbing slightly in the waves.

This was always one of her favourite moments of the show, watching as the contestants raced to scavenge as many supplies as they could in five minutes into their boat.

In almost no time at all the cameras had started rolling and Jeff had begun explaining the task to the audience going over the same speech that was spoken every season, two teams, one survivor and a prize of one million dollars at the end of 50 days. Beth briefly had enough time to wonder if it was too late to back out and call it quits before the air horn went off and everyone started racing to the end of the boat.

There was no time for introductions or discussions of what to do, just shouts of advice and instructions and so Beth teamed up with a pretty blonde girl who she suspected was in her early to mid twenties and together they started haling different crates into the boat. Most of them were heavy and took serious effort to lift and lower down into the smaller row boat where two other contestants were helping to keep them from toppling into the ocean.

Beth had always been rather fit, growing up on the farm and riding horses since she was a little girl had certainly kept her active, however Maggie had pushed her to properly start training and preparing for the show and so she’d spent the last few months building up her strength as well as reading up on all sorts of survival books and information. Most of which she doubt she would need for the show, but some of which was useful and depending on what the island was like would make her a handy tribe mate to have around.

It had only felt like a few seconds but almost instantly Jeff was instructing them to put down what they had and make their way into the boats to row to the island they could just make out in the distance.

To say the row was gruelling would be an understatement, they spent another two hours making their way to the island, the view of a white beach that backed onto thick jungle growing closer with each passing minute. Thankfully the current helped to pull them in the last couple of stretches, but after spending all day in the heat everyone was feeling it and by the time they could jump out and stand in the water and pull the boat to shore Beth was just about ready to bend down and kiss the sand like the Pope.

Finally standing on solid ground Beth looked around at the beach that would be their home for the next however many days, her eyes landing firstly on the large yellow sign with the word ‘Vakama’ printed on it which was clearly the name of their new tribe. Although it wasn’t a large beach it was certainly beautiful with it being a sort of bay that curved around and was blocked by a big collection of rocks on one side and a sharp point on the other. The water itself was rather calm and clear being protected by the small reef she could see in the distance and parallel to the beach ran the thick escapement of tress that would at least offer them some respite from the sun. After all of them were done taking in the sights they began to finally make introductions.

Apart from Beth their were three other contestants around the same age as her, Amy, the girl who had teamed up with her to scavenge items into their boat, Glenn a man in his mid twenties who was a pizza delivery boy for his families pizza bar and who seemed beyond excited to be there and another girl called Lauren who instantly reminded Beth of Maggie. With the two even looking quite similar, the only difference being Lauren having long brown hair as opposed to Maggies short hair and rather than having green eyes she had huge brown bambi like ones instead.

The rest of their tribe was made up of older contestants, the oldest of which was a nice woman named Carol who had warmly hugged Beth and helped her cary some of the supplies after Rick, a tall middle aged man with light stubble and bright blue eyes had suggested they get their supplies up the beach so they could take stock of what they had.

The others who made up Rick’s age group was Bob a dark skinned man who had offered Beth one of the drink bottles to sip from, Lori a willowy woman who seemed quite shy, Shane a man who seemed quite domineering from his large build and the last was a man named Daryl who had already started pulling items from the boat even before Rick had suggested it. Overall their tribe seemed to have an interesting assortment of people all of who Beth was eager to get to know over the coming days.

After they’d all helped to bring their small amount of belongings up the beach and had taken stock of what they’d managed to get, which mostly just consisted of their merger food supply of rice and beans as well as their tools to build their shelter they began properly setting up their camp.

Beth had always prided herself as someone who could easily read people and so knowing that building a shelter was not her forte she decided to stand back and observe her tribe mates instead, and take note of the different roles each one naturally took on.

It hadn’t surprised her in the least when Shane had straight away tried to take charge and begin ordering people around telling them how they should build their shelter. However it soon became apparent he didn’t know very much of what he was talking about when their first through third attempts all failed under his instruction.

What did surprise Beth though was when the sound of a grunt came from her left.

_“Need to position it not facin the ocean as that’s where the wind cominin from.”_

Turning Beth looked to see the low grumble had come from Daryl who was standing watching her tribe members struggle just as she was.

At his words everyone had gone momentarily silent, eyes on the tall quiet man before Rick asked him a question.

_“Do you know how to build a shelter?_ ” He’d asked raising his eyebrow in question.

Daryl had just nodded once before stalking over and grabbing the different bamboo sticks and palm fronds, giving low gruffling instructions to those that were still trying to help.

About half an hour later, with Daryl doing most of the work they had managed to erect a fairly decent hut that would at least protect them from the wind and most of the rain.

Now that they had a shelter the rest of the afternoon was spent talking and exploring the beach as well as finding their water source which was about 100 feet into the bush. One thing they had all been rather pleased to discover, was the small waterfall which ran down into a large swimming hole that Bob had found on his way to the toilet, stating that it would be good for washing and cleaning.

Once they’d all had a look at the waterfall, agreeing it would be perfect for showering Carol had suggested they try and make a fire seeing as the sun was beginning to set, and so whilst Beth and Glenn had offered to fill up the water bottles the rest of the tribe had gone and collected firewood and other palm fronds for kindling.

One thing Beth knew that was almost impossible to do was make a fire on the first night of Survivor, especially when neither tribe had fire making resources which is why the first reward challenge almost always saw the teams competing for things like flint.

However much to her surprise once more, when her and Glenn had returned, bottles now full, they had found Daryl crouching over a small flickering flame and everyone standing around watching as he grew it bigger and bigger before standing up and throwing a few of the larger logs on top to keep it burning.

Beth suspected that they all looked pretty stupid on camera standing around with their mouths open and staring at Daryl as though he was God, probably akin to how the cave men looked when they discovered fire, however creating fire from scratch was something only two or three people on all seasons of survivor had managed to do. And it was becoming more apparent to Beth, and probably the rest of their tribe that Daryl had a lot of knowledge about how to survive in the bush, however somehow she doubted he had learnt his skills just for the show like she had.

Something about the way he brushed off the praise from everyone and had looked down almost in embarrassment had struck her that he knew these things for other reasons. She just didn’t know what they were.

That night they all sat around the fire talking and laughing and getting to know one another better. Even Daryl, who had barely spoke except for a few muffled grunts here and there had shared a few private grins with himself, especially over some of Glenn’s ridiculous stories that had everyone cracking up. During their conversation Beth was able to learn a few more things about her fellow tribe mates, Rick was the local sherif for his town and had come on the show as a suggestion from his son. Carol was a single parent who worked in her local supermarket and was hoping to win the money so her and her daughter could have a better life. Shane owned his own gym and was also a part time bounty hunter. Lori ran a day care centre and was hoping to use the money to expand her business. Lauren had worked in L.A at a large company and had decided to audition for the show the day she’d quit after her boss had been, as she called him an absolute jackass.

Getting to know her tribe mates and discussing the upcoming events had Beth for the first time in a long while actually feeling positive and excited about something, even as she lay awake in the small hut made of leaves and sticks listening to the unfamiliar breathing and movements of her tribe mates.

Oh well at least her luxury item was a waterproof pillow, unlike Glenn who had decided to bring a blow up pizza floaty, grinning to herself at his look of instant regret as she’d pulled out her luxury item Beth rolled over and fell asleep, for once in what felt like a life time actually looking forward to tomorrow.


	2. Day 2

One thing Beth has always hated was snoring. She’d never been able to stand it or fall asleep if someone was snoring in her vicinity and last night, as she’d laid awake listening to Bob sounding like some sort of congested walrus had been no exception.

Unfortunately for her that meant she had gotten practically no sleep on her first night, except for in the few hours of the morning when she’d finally succumbed to sleep out of pure exhaustion. However from growing up on the farm it also meant Beth was an early riser and sleeping outside had meant she’d woken up with the sun.

Groaning slightly at the ache in her back from laying on the hard bamboo all night Beth rose from her spot in the shelter that was thankfully near the end and meant she only had Carol and Daryl to manoeuvre around.

Walking over to the fire pit that still had some glowing embers in it, from whoever had placed the cooking pot over it to keep it alight. Beth placed a few palm fronds on it to bring it back to life.

She was rather surprised to be the first one up having suspected that at least Rick or Daryl would be awake before her.

However as if he’d somehow heard her thoughts Daryl was soon making his way over to her, stretching out his strong armsabove his head and in a way that madehis ripped sleeved t-shirt pull up to expose some of his toned stomach.

Choosing to ignore the hint of _something_ that had arisen in her at the sight of Daryl’s exposed abdomen she whispered a quick good morning, turning her attention back to the fire.

Daryl just nodded his head and let out what she thought was a grunted ‘morning’ in reply before coming to sit down across from her.

_“Not a morning person?”_ She grinned teasingly at him.

_“Pfttt nah I just don’t much like sleepin next to nine other people I dunno, specially when one of em snore’s all damn night.”_ He said shaking his head.

Glad that she wasn’t the only one who had been affected by Bob’s snores she hummed in agreement.

_“Mmm Bob was pretty loud last night, I don’t think I got more than a few hours if I was lucky, hopefully it won’t happen again tonight or I’ve got no hope in the challenge tomorrow.”_

Beth felt a momentary flicker of guilt arise in her at planting the seed about Bob, but she had to remind herself that she wasn’t there to make friends and anyway she knew that people who snored and kept half the tribe awake didn’t tend to last long as it was.

Luckily for her Daryl didn’t seem to react much to her information that it was Bob who was snoring.

_“Jus thought you were tossing and turning all night cause ya ain’t used to the outdoors.”_

_“Ya think I’m some sort of princess or somethin Mr Dixon?”_ She said playfully, giving him a mock glare and silently congratulating herself that she’d managed to remember his last name when he’d first introduced himself.

Daryl seemed to flush slightly at her accusation as though he wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

_“Well jokes on you cause I spent all my life growing up on my farm an I was basically raised in the outdoors.”_ Although what she said was true, she’d practically lived outdoors, especially when she was younger, always out building forts with her siblings, riding their horses or playing down at the creeks, she did fib slightly. Because as Beth had gotten older she’d also grown to appreciate her nice warm comfy bed and the luxuries of a hot bath as opposed to swimming in a freezing damn, not that she would tell Daryl that as she’d be damned if she let anyone think she was weak.

Beth knew that that was most likely how the majority of her tribe saw her, especially considering her small stature and innocent appearance, which is why she was particularly excited for the reward challenge the following day where she would get to show off just how much of an asset she was to her tribe and hopefully, at least for the time being deviate some of the concerns about her capabilities.

Daryl seemed to just be processing the new information she had shared about herself, silently analysing her from his seat. One thing in particular she had noticed about Daryl last night was the intensity of his gaze and how his eyes seemed to burn whenever they had made eye contact over the fire, often making her look away, a slight blush tinting her cheeks, which was exactly what was happening to her now.

Thankfully she was spared from any embarrassment or awkward tension by Daryl clearing his throat,

_“So where bout’s your farm?”_ He asked bringing his thumb nail up to his mouth.

_“Oh umm in Senioa down in Georgia.”_

Raising his eyebrow at her surprisingly he smirked,

_“We're neighbours then.”_

_“Really!”_ She asked eyes wide.

_“Mmm live just outside of Sharpsburg.”_ He nodded at her, smirking ever so slightly at her surprised reaction.

_“Huh I wonder how we’ve never run into one ‘nother before”._ She pondered thinking about how they’d lived so close but had met on the other side of the world.

_“Doubt you’d give me a second look if we’d met before hand.”_

Wondering what he meant but not having time to ask as they were interrupted by the arrival of Amy and Lauren who both looked about as tired as Beth felt.

_“Uhh did you guys get zero sleep as well._ ” Amy yawned sitting down on one side of Beth whilst Lauren sat on Daryls side.

_“Morning, mmm I got no beauty sleep thats for sure._ ” Beth replied stifling her own yawn.

It wasn’t long before the rest of their tribe slowly started to appear, each of them greeting them with yawns and groans of protest either about the lack of sleep of their sore backs from sleeping in the shelter.

Glenn was the last to wake and after he’d come out just as cheerful and happy as the last day and looking like the only one who’d gotten a full night’s sleep, they set about cooking an exciting breakfast or rice and beans, continuing to make small talk, and unsurprisingly no one bringing up Bob’s snoring at least not in front of the entire group.

As they ate their rather bland meal talk soon turned to food.

_“Theres no way I can live on rice and beans for the rest of this game.”_ Amy said frowning at her bowl.

_“Yeah I ain’t no veggie man thats for sure.”_ Shane agreed.

Luckily they had started the game out with a couple cans of beans and some huge bags of rice, the later of which they would no doubt be able to ration out for the continuation of the game. But it was definitely not enough food and nutrients for them to survive on alone and not to mention the prospect of living on rice and beans for the next 50 days was not an appealing one.

_“Mmm we’ll definitely have to see what we can find on the island._ ” Carol added.

_“Might be a couple of banana and coconut tree’s in the bush, couple of us could check it out after breakfast.”_ Rick suggested looking over to the thick foliage.

_“Could try fishin’ too.”_ Daryl mumbled.

_“Hey thats actually a good idea and my dad took me and my older sister fishing all the time, taught us all what to do, I might even be able to make some fishing lines out of that rope, I can have a go after this and then we might be able to solve our meat problem.”_ Amy smiled brightly.

Everyone agreed it was a good idea and after finishing their breakfast they all split off to see what they could find.

Rick, Shane, Lori, Bob and Daryl had all gone off looking for any fruit trees or other food sources in the jungle they could use whilst Carol and Glenn went to re-fill the water bottles and have a wash down at the waterfall and Beth and Lauren had decided to stay with Amy to learn how to make fishing rods.

Amy was actually quite amazing to watch as she spun and tied the rope, which was practically more like twine, into fishing line before bending the flexible bamboo sticks into small hand held fishing reels.

The main problem they had was finding something they could use for hooks but once Carol had returned, she had come up with the ingenious idea of breaking some of the crates their supplies came in and using the nails from them to bend into somewhat useable hooks.

Once they’d made three decent looking fishing reels and grabbed one of the cans of beans which they’d agreed could be used for bait, Lauren, Amy and Carol, who the later had asked Beth if it would be alright if she had a go at fishing, set off in their row boat out to the reef.

Whilst the girls tried to catch lunch Beth decided she’d go to the waterfall and wash up. When she got their she couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the sight of Glenn, who looked more like he was on vacation than a game of Survivor as he laid on his pizza slice floaty in the small pool below the waterfall.

Taking off her clothes, which consisted of a pair of black exercise shorts and a navy blue singlet, Beth stripped down to her black full piece, grateful that she’d had the foresight to bring both a full piece and a bikini, before hoping into the water and swimming around a bit, enjoying the feel of the warm water before paddling over to Glenn.

Leaning her arms on the floaty to keep herself above the water she squinted her eyes up at him.

_“You know I was thinking you could almost use this as a bed, lay on it at night and you’d almost have yourself a blow up mattress.”_ She smirked flicking him with water.

_“Bloody hell why didn’t I think of that!”_ He shouted slapping his forehead lightly.

Beth laughed,

_“Well from the looks of you this morning I doubt you need it anyway you slept like a baby compared to the rest of us.”_

_“Mmm Carol mentioned something about Bob keeping everyone awake last night.”_

_“Yeah it wasn’t the best, but who knows maybe it’s just a one off._ ” She shrugged trying not to talk badly about Bob incase Glenn thought she was scheming.

It seemed though he had other ideas.

_“Well even if it’s a regular occurrence I think he’d still be safe from being eliminated, a least for a while.”_ He replied bringing his arms behind his head so he could look at her better.

_“What do you mean?_ ” She asked confused

Glenn seemed to pause for a minute as if he was unsure he should say anything more.

_“Well, haven’t you noticed?_ ” He asked lowering his voice slightly.

_“Noticed what?”_

Sighing he slipped off his floaty and indicated for her to follow him out of the water as he moved back to the edge of the pool.

_“I think theres already groups or alliances forming.”_ He whispered as if afraid someone might be listening, which was inherently possible but seemed unlikely with the sound of the rushing waterfall drowning out most of their words.

_“How can you tell?”_ She asked again, honestly Beth hadn’t noticed anything. As far as she could tell everyone was still getting to know one another, not forming secret pacts yet, maybe she needed to pay more attention.

_“Well theres natural differences in the tribe, most notably between the younger members, you, me Lauren and Amy and the older members i.e everyone else.”_ Glenn said gesturing around him.

Beth frowned slightly, she’d noticed the differences in age obviously, you couldn’t not. But she didn’t think that it would mean two groups naturally formed, at least not this early on.

_“Look I’m not saying it’s certain, but.. just pay closer attention to a few certain members and you’ll see what I mean. I’m going to talk to Lauren and maybe Amy a bit about my suspicions later because I think it might be good for us to all stick together anyway.”_ He said climbing out of the water and offering her a hand to pull her up.

Getting to her feet Beth looked at the young man in front of her and thought about what he’d just shared with her. What Glenn said made sense, if there were alliances forming already Beth needed to know about it and be protected from them, and the safest way to do so was be in one herself. Her instincts told her she could trust Glenn and the fact he’d told her about his suspicions at least showed her that he trusted her somewhat and she liked Lauren and Amy well enough to.

Nodding in agreement Beth stuck out her hand,

_“So we agree to stick together then, at least until merge?”_

Glenn grinned and shook her hand.

* * *

Once they were back at the beach Glenn headed over to the shelter to as he said, _“put away his floaty”_ and also chat to Lauren who was conveniently sitting over there whilst Beth headed to the fire pit sitting down beside Daryl and Carol who were cleaning the three fish that the girls had caught earlier.

_“So what do we think the reward will be for tomorrow?_ ” Bob asked poking the fire with a long stick.

_“Well normally the first reward challenge is always something to do with fire, as thats what most tribes normally need and want straight away but as we’ve already got fire it could be anything.”_ Beth shrugged recalling that the first challenge usually always involved the two teams competing for things such as flint, matches or fishing rods and other food supplies.

_“It’s the fortieth season as well so this year could be different.”_ Carol added her eyes fixed on the large pot filled with rice and pieces of fish.

All of them nodded in agreement with her before the conversation shifted to what the challenge might actually involve, however Beth’s attention was fixed firmly on the two figures emerging from the jungle just behind where Glenn was talking to Lauren, and as Shane and Lori quickly stopped their whispered conversation to walk over to the rest of them Beth couldn’t help but think that maybe Glenn was onto something.


	3. Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!   
> I'm so so so so sorry that it has taken me so long to update I have just been crazy ridiculous busy and have had barely any time to write or even think about writing lately so please forgive me! I am still here and am committed to this story however it might just be a little bit of a wait between chapters from now on.  
>  I hope you like these next two though (I've decided to do a double update for you as I think you al deserve it).   
> Love LibrarianWitch

Beth walked through the knee deep water, her eyes trained on the back of Carol as they followed the rest of their tribe along the edge of the beach.

They were currently on their way to the first reward challenge and to say Beth was excited was an understatement.

She’d woken up at the crack of dawn, once again thanks to Bob’s continuous snoring that showed no sign of letting up. However despite getting little sleep she felt surprisingly well rested and energised for the upcoming task.

Which was good considering the first reward and immunity challenge almost always started off with a bang to set the bar high for the rest of the season.

Whilst they had been eating a breakfast of cold rice and some banana and papaya that they’d been lucky enough to find in the jungle the previous day, a crew member had instructed a couple of them to go down to the ‘mailbox’ at one end of their beach and retrieve the clue inside that would tell them about the upcoming challenge.

It wasn’t a particular detailed letter, only listing a few lines about battling for buried treasure to win the real treasure and it had everyone agreeing that it would involve some sort of digging or retrieving of items to win the challenge.

After that it wasn’t long before another crew member had come along and led them down the beach and around the point which is where they were now. Stepping aside the man instructed Shane, who of course had decided to take charge and go first, to keep walking along the sand until they came to the large coloured mat’s that Beth could see ahead on the sand.

As they made their way over to the blue and yellow turd that had about 30 feet between them Beth noticed another group of people coming from the opposite direction of them, and before long they found themselves face to face with the other tribe.

However it appeared the challenge wasn’t taking place on the beach, at least not just yet, as everyone turned to face the water noticing for the first time Jeff standing on a floating platform about 100 feet out. 

_“Contestants, before we begin our first reward challenge of the season I need you all to come out and join me.”_ He called out over the megaphone.

Sighing and hoping that the crew members were not sending them into shark infested waters Beth waded out into the water with the others.

_“Don’t rush, take it slow we don’t want to strain ourselves before the challenge even begins!”_ Shane barked at them.

Beth rolled her eyes at his unnecessary comment, honestly how thick did he think they were, before she flipped onto her back and paddled out to where Jeff was waiting.

It took them about half an hour for everyone to reach the platform, with most of them either doing some strange sort of doggy paddle or adopting Beth’s lazy back stroke approach.

Once she’d pulled herself up onto the platform with the help of Daryl and Rick lifting one arm each, she was finally able to get a proper look at the opposing tribe. 

Similarly to her own tribe, Ravu which Jeff had told them upon welcoming meant ‘to kill’ in Fijian whilst Vakama meant ‘to burn,’ had a mixture of different contestants. However rather than having an almost equal amount of young and old members like her own, theirs only had about two young contestants. A tall tan boy who looked almost the same age as Beth and a rather fit looking girl who Beth thought might be of hispanic ethnicity.

_“So welcome to the first reward challenge. Sasha how have the first two days been in your tribe has everyone been getting along?”_ Jeff asked turning to a dark skinned woman in Ravu.

_“They’ve been great, well apart from the sleeping in a hut thing but everyones been really nice so far.”_ She laughed giving Jeff a wide smile.

Nodding as though this wasn’t the exact same thing everyone said on their first few days in camp before real alliances and back stabbing were made Jeff then turned to Beth’s tribe asking Glenn and a few others similar sort of questions before he finally went on to explain the challenge.

_“Today you will compete in a task that involves each of you partnering up and carrying a chest, that is currently located under water, back to the beach. You will then work to undo the rope and free the key which will unlock your chest and then finally dig through the sand to uncover buried objects or treasure which will be placed in your chest. The tribe who has each chest filled with the correct amount of treasure first will win reward. I’ll give you three minutes to strategise and partner up and then at my mark you will start.”_

Quickly processing the information and thinking that the task wasn’t to bad but that it would be made extra difficult by the having to rely on another person, especially when no one really knew each others weakness or strengths yet, Beth huddled up with the rest of her tribe. 

As predictable Shane immediately took on the role of delegating partners to everyone but Beth didn’t mind too much as one way or another it would reflect some way on Shane, positively if his strategy worked and they won and negatively if it didn’t and they lost because he was to caught up in playing leader.

Happily Beth found herself partnered with Lauren which the other girl also seemed please about as she’d given Beth a wide grin and small wink, whilst Amy and Glenn were together, Lori and Carol, Daryl and Bob and Shane and Rick.

The good thing, or bad thing about this challenge, depending how you viewed it, Beth thought. Was that although it was essentially a team challenge it really came down to the partners abilities to work together, allowing everyone to see first hand how their tribe members coped and what they were capable of. It wasn’t really until the final stage of the challenge when team playing came together as all team members could work together to uncover the treasure.

Taking a breath and reading herself Beth got into the dive position on the edge of the platform, glad that the water was relatively calm.

_“Okay survivors on my mark, 1, 2, 3 Go!” Jeff Shouted._

Launching herself into the water Beth dove down, her eyes straining as she tried to find their chest. Luckily the water was almost perfectly clear and Beth could see 5 yellow chests sitting down on the bottom ofthe sand, pushing herself down she reached for one handle, glad that Lauren was right behind her and was able to grab the other side just as Beth's fingers closed tightly around it.

Although there wasn’t anything in the chest it was still heavy enough that it took a lot of effort for them to drag it to the surface. Gasping for breath they both frantically paddled in the direction of the beach. Beth could see there was at least four other pairs ahead of them, too from the other tribe and the other two being Rick and Shane and Amy and Glenn.

It took them about five minutes to reach a point where they could stand and finally start running the rest of the way to the beach. By then everyone had gotten their chest, as Jeff had told them all thanks to his running commentary, however there seemed to be some distance between those in front and those at the end.

Beth and Lauren had managed to work their way one place forward when a pair from the Ravu tribe had accidentally dropped their chest and had to swim down and get it again.

But as they ran up to one of the tall totem poles on the sand Beth could hear the splashing of them behind them so knew they weren’t to far behind.

Quickly dropping the chest on the sand Lauren reached up and started working on the first knots of the rope that held up their key whilst Beth took the other side.

It was a rather complicated array of knots meaning that the two girls often found themselves going back and forth and having to pass their ropes between each other to free their key. However eventually they managed to untie it.

_“Phillip and Abraham still in the lead, now moving over to the sandpit followed closely by Lauren and Beth who have just untied their key. Rick and Shane coming in close behind them having almost finished their knots, whilst Andrea and Rosita and Bob and Daryl seem neck a neck. Amy and Glenn unfortunately have fallen behind, seeming to struggle with their rope ties and the other pairs all only just starting on their ropes.”_

Picking up their chest once more they dragged it over to the large sand area that lay between the two coloured mats, before Beth quickly unlocked it.

_“Survivors you will notice that in your chest there is room for three treasure pieces, each of which acts as a puzzle piece which when put together will spell out one word, these words will then form a phrase once read together. You need to find these three pieces with your partner however there is one condition I forgot to mention. Only two tribe members from each team is allowed in the sand at once, and you are each only allowed to look for one treasure piece at a time. Whilst the tribe members are searching for the treasure the others should be helping to fit them into the chests.”_

Cursing at the rules that Jeff had "forgotten to leave out," Beth and Lauren quickly ran into the sand, both being the only tribe mates for Vakama at the sand pit yet.

Sifting through the sand Beth felt around for the hidden treasure pieces, growing more frustrated as she continued to feel nothing whilst it seemed the others were having more luck.

_“And Lauren finding her first treasure piece, Abraham now onto his second whilst Phillip and Beth still have none. Rick and Shane now coming over to the pit having untied their key and Andrea and Rosita not far behind them!”_

Trying to push down her frustrations Beth tuned out Jeff’s commentary and shifted her tactics to sifting her hands through the sand rather than digging like she had been, which seemed the correct approach as no sooner had she switched did her hands lock around a large wooden block.

Grinning to herself Beth quickly pulled it out, noting it’s yellow colour before running back to the chests.

She could seed that Rick, Shane, Amy, Glenn and now Daryl and Bob where all waiting at the mat for them, with Carol and Lori not far off, whereas the other team was waiting on two other pairs to finish freeing their keys.

_“Phillip seeming to have found a piece now making Ravu’s total three and Vakama’s two!”_

Not stopping to look where the piece fitted into the puzzle only throwing it into Rick’s arms Beth quickly turned back to the sand pit, resuming her search.

It was almost comical how quickly she landed on the next piece, her hands almost instantly landing on the small wooden block.

_“And Beth’s found another piece! That makes it a tie now each tribe having three pieces!”_

As time wore on Beth and Lauren continued to find more and more pieces, with it getting easier as they went as each of them knew where they’d already searched. Both tribes had seemed to unanimously decide that those who had started searching would keeping searching whilst the others worked on figuring out where the pieces went and what was being said.

_“We are now down to the last chest for each tribe. Ravu is in the lead, only needing one remaining piece whilst Vakama needs only two! Abraham and Phillip now frantically going over where they’ve previously searched oh and it looks like Phillip has found Ravu’s last piece but wait no its a yellow piece not blue!”_

Looking up Beth watched as the man Phillip from Ravu angrily threw their yellow piece away, it going clean over her and Lauren’s head and landing just on the edge of the marked sand area.

Growling slightly Lauren quickly ran over and retrieved it throwing it to their other tribe members who were each muttering angry protests at Phillips action.

However Beth just ignored it and continued searching, moments later being joined again by Lauren. All of them we’re now sifting through the sand like crazy people. Sand flying up in all directions and getting everywhere. Just as Beth lifted one of her arms up to wipe her eyes, her other hand enclosed around a wooden block.

Almost disbelievingly she pulled the piece out from the sand and held it up letting out a yell as she saw it was yellow.

_“And it looks as though Phillip has found Ravu’s last piece!”_

Faltering Beth looked up to see he’d also unearthed the other tribes last remaining treasure piece, however unlike her he was quickly getting to his feet.

Pushing herself up Beth ran as fast as she could watching as Phillip was only a few paces behind her, him having to run further to his tribes chest.

_“Beth’s also managed to find Vakama’s last piece! It’s gonna be a close finish!”_

Lungs heaving and her muscles aching from the exertion she managed to through the last piece at her tribe who were all screaming and cheering her on.

Panting she paused to watch as Carol caught it and quickly fitted it into place, only mili seconds before Ravu.

_“And Vakama wins!”_

Sighing in relief Beth dropped to her knees in pure joy as her team mates ran towards her and Lauren all of them screaming and cheering and congratulating them, Beth just grinning in return to puffed to utter any words back.

After they’d all calmed down from their win and had resumed their place in front of their five chests they all waited to see what they’d won.

_“Congratulations Vakama on your win, and well done to both tribes for putting up an amazing effort, it was certainly one of the closest challenges we've ever had. Now I’m sure you’re all eager to hear just what your had work has brought. Well seeing as it is the first reward challenge and we know both tribes are in need of certain things we have decided that today’s reward will involve a pantry selection from which you will get to choose six items from. However only two tribe members are allowed to go and choose these items. I will give you a few minutes to discuss between yourselves who will be going.”_

Beth huddled with the rest of their tribe waiting to see who would be suggested to go and pick.

_“I think ‘should be Beth.”_

Eyes wide and a light blush on her features Beth turned to Daryl in surprise. 

_“I agree with Daryl, if it wasn’t for Beth finding that last piece we wouldn’t of won._ ” Glenn added giving her a wink.

Grinning slightly Bethjust waited to see what her other tribe mates said, however everyone seemed in agreement all giving her nods and smiles of encouragement.

_“Alright who else should go then?”_ Shane asked turning to each of them.

“I think Rick should be the other.” Lori said, for once speaking up.

Everyone turned to the rather meek looking woman to see what else she had to say.

_“Well, he was the one who figured out where most of the pieces went.”_ She said trailing off slightly.

Beth noticed the small glare that Shane seemed to send Lori’s way, however almost as soon as it was there it was gone again.

Much like her Rick didn’t say anything at Lori’s suggestion just waited to see what everyone else thought, but much like with her everyone, except for perhaps Shane, seemed to agree.

_“Vakam have you chosen your two tribe mates who will be choosing your reward items?”_ Jeff asked calling their attention back.

_“Yes Jeff we’ve chosen Beth and myself to go._ ” Rick said gesturing to the both of them.

Nodding at them Jeff then turned to Ravu who were all looking rather dejected.

“ _Now as I said before we are all aware that Ravu you are also in need of several items all of which would make your stay on the Survivor a lot more easier. And although you won’t be getting to choose six items like Vakama we have decided to let you go to the pantry and choose one single item, however like Vakama only two tribe mates will be permitted to go.”_

At Jeff’s words the other tribe seemed to perk up slightly and quickly they choose their own two tribe mates to go.

_“Ravu who have you decided will be going?”_

_“We’ve chosen Phillip and Eugene.”_ An elderly man with a white beard and a khaki coloured fishing hat on.

_“Now how this will work is firstly as Vakama you won, Beth and Rick will go first and once you’ve chosen then Phillip and Eugene will go.”_

Nodding Rick and Beth waited listening as Jeff explained where they needed to go before walking off around one side of the bay.

_“If theres chocolate make sure your you get it!”_ Glenn shouted after them.

_“And coffee!”_ Lauren called making everyone laugh.

It only took them a few moments to walk to the ‘pantry,’ which was really just a wooden shelf with 12 different objects on it and a large note instructing them on the rules.

_Congratulations on winning the reward challenge and welcome to the Survivor Pantry. Below are twelve items for you to choose six of. You may choose to keep these items for yourself or share them with the remainder of your tribe. Remember to choose wisely._

_“Alright so what are we thinkin?”_ Rick drawled looking at her.

Beth looked at the objects before them, seeing just what they could choose from.

On the first shelf there was a bag of rice, a jar of cookies and a bunch of bananas. The second shelf held a toiletries box with face washers, nail scissors, soap, small bottles of shampoo and conditioner as well as disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste. Next to that was also a large jug of some ice cold fruity looking punch as well as what looked to be flint and a game advantage which peeked Beth’s interests immensely. Below that on the third shelf was a rolled up piece of tarp, a small canvas swag, a blanket, some fishing equipment and lastly a large bag of vegetables.

_“Well I think before we decide we need to discuss if we are doing a tribe shop or just for ourselves?”_ Beth said looking up to Rick.

The man in question brought his hand up to nervously scratch the five o’clock stubble that had been getting longer these past few days.

_“I think for the most part we should do a tribe shop but—”_

_“—I think we should keep this for ourselves.”_ He said picking up the game advantage and handing it to her.

_“Theres a note attached to it.”_ Beth said pulling off the small folded up piece of paper.

_“This advantage entitles two players to attend any reward their own tribe is not a part of. It is only valid until merge.”_

Beth’s eyes widened as she looked back to Beth. Although it didn’t sound like a lot, it would give someone more of an advantage then others as they would be able to meet the other players before merge and hopefully build a relationship with them.

“ _You think we should take this and keep it for ourselves?”_ Beth asked biting her lip slightly.

_“I think we’d be stupid not to.”_ Rick said bringing his own light blue eyes to hers.

Knowing he was probably right but also hoping it didn’t put a target on her back for doing something selfish rather than for the tribe Beth nodded.

_“Okay, if we choose this though we need to agree that it’s just for us and we have to agree together when to use it._ ” Beth said.

_“That sounds good, should we tell the others that we have it?”_ Rick asked.

Beth hesitated for a moment thinking what it might mean if they told the others or chose to keep it a secret.

_“I think we should tell them, if we tell them straight away it’ll show that we don’t have anything to hide and we’re being truthful, just that we saw an advantage and decided to take it.”_ She shrugged hoping the others would see it like that to.

_“Okay, then what are our other five choices?_ ” Rick said turning back to the shelves.

_“I think everything else should be for the tribe and not for us.”_

“Mmm might sweeten the deal better.” Rick said smirking at her rather playfully.

_“For one I think the toiletries, not only would everyone appreciate it but I know they all need it.”_ Beth said thinking just how bad her breath smelt at the moment.

_“Mmm lord knows I could do with a shave.”_ Rick said laughing slightly.

_“The tarp could come in handy as well, we could use it either on the bamboo to make it more comfortable or to keep out any rain._ ” She thought aloud passing the tarp to Rick.

_“You choose one now.”_

_“The vegetables definitely, this bag is huge it would easily last us a while._ ” He said grabbing the large sack and hauling it over his shoulder.

_“The blanket would be good to, even though its not big enough for all of us we could take it in turns to use it._ ” Beth suggested.

_“Okay, then I recon our final thing should be the cookies.”_ Rick said surprising her slightly.

_“Seriously?_ ” She laughed.

_“Mmm you heard Glenn we weren’t to come back without chocolate, this is our next best thing and besides we don’t need fishing gear or flint as Amy and Daryl took care of that, and I don’t really care for a cocktail and lord knows we’ve got enough rice and bananas to last forever.”_ Rick said pointing out all the others.

_“Haha okay well the cookies it is then._ ” Beth laughed grabbing the jar before heading back to camp with Rick their reward items in hand and Beth hoping all the while that she’d chosen right and hadn’t just signed her eviction notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vakama Tribe mates:   
> Beth   
> Daryl   
> Lauren (Actress who plays Maggie in the show for those who don't know)  
> Glenn   
> Rick   
> Carol   
> Amy  
> Bob   
> Lori   
> Shane 
> 
> Ravu Tribe Mates:   
> Eugene   
> Rosita   
> Andrea   
> Michonne   
> Abraham   
> Dale   
> Noah   
> Phillip (Governor)   
> Sasha   
> Tara


	4. Day 4

_“So what do you think of the game so far?”_ Lauren asked from her position beside Beth.

It was the in-between day of the two challenges, which meant no one had much to do except the regular chores and to try and find ways to amuse themselves.

After they’d all pitched in to get the jobs done in the morning, which mostly consisted of re-filling the water bottles, washing the meagre amount of cutlery they had, collecting firewood and any other food they found, Beth and Lauren had gone a little way’s down to the beach where the rocks jutted out offering them a nice sun tanning area.

_“Well it’s pretty much what I expected, but it’s also different than watching it at home. I thought it would be easier to get my mind around the fact that it’s survivor, meaning one sole survivor at the end, but I have to keep reminding myself it’s a game.”_ Beth said honestly.

_“Mmm I know what you meant, but I think it might be easier to remind myself it’s just a game with some people over others.”_ Lauren said, siding eyeing her slightly.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out where this conversation was going.

_“Did Glenn talk to you.”_ Beth asked bitting her lip slightly.

_“Mmm he told me what he thought about the two groups and how you, me, him and Amy should stick together.”_

_“Do you agree with him?”_ Beth asked turning more towards her.

There was a pause before Lauren answered.

_“I think he’s right that it would make sense for us to have each others back, but I don’t think we should shut off the others and make it obvious where our allegiances lie, at least not this early on.”_

_“I know what you mean, if it’s just us four that stick together we’re going to be the minority and we’re not going to last long.”_

_“What are your thoughts on the others?”_ Lauren asked jerking her head back to the camp.

Beth sighed wondering how honest she should be. It was true that Beth trusted Lauren, she had a gut feeling about her that told her she could trust her. Maybe it was because she reminded her of her sister, she wasn’t sure. But she also knew that Survivor was a game of strategy and you couldn’t underestimate anyone despite how nice they seemed.

But figuring this was something she could be honest about Beth looked back to Lauren who was currently switching to lying on her stomach.

_“I think that what Glenn said is mostly true, from what I’ve been seeing these last few days. But I also think theres some people who are on the fence, or seem to be anyway.”_ She replied, her mind flashing with thoughts of Daryl, who although in theory was apart of the ‘other’ alliance didn’t seem to spend to much time with them, except for Carol and Rick.

_“I also think that even though Bob is genuinely a nice guy and he does pitch in round the camp…I just don’t see him lasting long with his snoring. It’s affecting everyone._ ” She added.

_“Mmm I think you’re right, I think if we went to tribal council tomorrow despite there starting to be splits between the tribe it would be a clear vote on who’d be going home. Most of us seem to be in the same boat, but after that it would be interesting to see where people vote, and I think sticking together at least until merge is the best way to see where everyone falls.”_

_“So we’re agreeing then, to Glenn’s idea of an alliance_ ” Beth said smiling down at her.

Lauren’s eyes fluttered open before she sat up slightly.

_“Yep, I think it’s for the best, I can have a chat to Amy later maybe see what she thinks and then depending on tomorrow we can see where to go from there?”_ Lauren suggested.

Beth nodded leaning back down and taking in the sun rays. Glad that for now she at least had some security.

* * *

That night they had decided to cut up a couple of the potatoes that Beth and Rick had gotten in the bag of vegetables from the reward, to make into some kind of chips to go along with the fish that Amy had caught, who had become the unofficial fisher of the tribe.

It was actually a rather decent meal and Beth was thankful once again that her and Rick seemed to have chosen correctly in their pantry shopping.

They’d both decided to be upfront in their selection, which meant telling the rest of their tribe about the advantage her and Rick had selected.

Most of the others seemed to agree it would of been stupid to pass up on and that even though it technically was an advantage, it wasn’t a huge one, and would at least allow the rest of the tribe to get an insight into the other tribes team mates.

The only ones who seemed rather standoffish at the idea of them having an advantage, especially that did not benefit the entire tribe was Shane and Lori who had eyed both of them with a calculating look.

As she ate and the others talked about the upcoming immunity challenge the following day Beth’s eyes moved over her tribe mates.

She’d strategically sat herself next to Lori tonight and purposely struck up a light conversation about her daycare and how Beth often did babysitting, hoping that by interacting with her it might make it seem less obvious about her, Glenn and Lauren’s alliance and that she might be able to build more of a rapport with the woman.

Rick was seated on her other side and was currently chatting adamantly to Shane about their similar jobs, Shane boasting about the different criminals he’d caught and Rick discussing how he’d actually been on leave before he’d come on the show, after an incident had happened where he’d had to take time off work to deal with the trauma of it.

He hadn’t gone into detail much, but had briefly spoken how it had involved the kidnapping of a mother and her young daughter at the hands of a well known psychopath. Rick had been the main Sheriff on the case but had been unable to get to them in time and had arrived at the place they were being held, only to see them killed in front of him before the killer had managed to escape.

Everyone had gone rather silent at his story, not knowing what to say, before Daryl had surprisingly broken the silence.

_“S’ better than the idiot cops in my town._ ” And then he had begun retelling some outlandish story bout how he’d gotten lost in the woods as a kid and had supposedly seen a Chupacabra and none of the police had believed him, rather unsurprisingly.

Beth had grinned when he’d finished telling the story thinking that it was nice to hear him slowly opening up to the group as he was easily the most standoffish of them all. However despite his cold appearance and non talkative nature Beth suspected he was rather caring underneath it all. At least from what she’d witnessed the last couple of days and how he’d gone out of his way to do extra chores and even given Carol the blanket to use despite it being his turn.

She didn’t know what intrigued her so much about Daryl and it was frustrating her how he seemed to be an enigma of sorts, so much so that she often caught herself casually watching him throughout the day or even looking for him just to see what he was doing.

But although Beth was often called out for her quiet nature her observations of her tribunates these past few days had proved useful in getting a better understanding of them. From what she'd seen she knew that Daryl was one of the one’s seated on the fence about alliances and she was pretty certain Lori and Shane were in one and that they were in the process of convincing Rick to join them. However she was unsure about Bob and Carol. She suspected that Bob could be swung either way but if Lauren was right then he would most likely be the tribes first vote and so it didn’t really matter where his vote lay. Carol on the other hand was more difficult to read. She appeared as though she would fit right in with Lori, the two actually having quite a bit in common but the older woman spent more time with Daryl, the two seeming to get along the best and so Beth thought that she could end up just doing whatever he did instead.

As though he could tell she was thinking about him Beth felt the familiar twinge of someone watching her and looked up to see the burning gaze of Daryl upon her from across the fire.

The last couple of mornings Beth had continued to wake up first, with Daryl coming out only a few moments later like that first morning. They’d sat in relatively comfortable silence for a while just taking in the sunrise over the water before Beth had slowly begun asking him a few questions about his life and what he did and him sometimes asking about her in return. Although she was beyond curious about the mysterious man she made sure not to push to much as she could tell he didn’t like to reveal much about himself.

It was actually rather nice just talking about normal things and leaving the game out of it and for a while Beth was able to almost pretend she wasn’t on a game of survivor and that this person sitting next to her who for unknown reasons caused a slight flutter in her stomach was not someone she was competing against.

Returning his gaze Beth offered him a small smile, blushing slightly as he returned it with just a flicker of his lips that only she could see, before she looked back down again.

Beth internally scolded herself. She needed to get a better hold of her emotions. This was a game. This was survivor and she couldn’t let someone, no matter how good looking they were get to her. For all she knew it could be Daryl’s strategy to somehow seduce her into falling for him and then blindside her.

Telling herself that she would no longer get distracted by her curiosity towards him nor would she let herself watch him throughout the day, or continue to have their morning talks or even give him secret smiles over the fire. Beth turned back to Lori and struck up their conversation again. Making sure her eyes never met the burning blue ones across the fire and never once acknowledging that she’d just thought of Daryl Dixon as attractive.


End file.
